In her current show running through October 28 at Pop Gallery in LA’s Culver City, photographer (and former pro skier) Lauren Ross celebrates the beauty and general badassness of the female form. Because many of her subjects are pro athletes and close personal friends, the resulting photographs are at once dreamy, intimate and physically exhilarating. In honor of the show, which benefits Stoked.org, a nonprofit that supports at-risk youth through action sports mentoring, Ross shared a few of her favorite images. Click through the gallery above for the stories behind the shots.

Photography by Lauren Ross